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I think having access to new media has really changed the way that we
communicate with one another. It gives us the power to speak to hundreds,
even thousands of people, with the click of a button. You're instantly local and global
simultaneously, and that's allowing for a lot more creative and
intellectual discourse. I can use it anytime, anywhere. I use social media every single day
of my life,
multiple times a day. It's completely changing the way we interact with people
and how we network.
With blogs and Twitter and Facebook,
we have the ability to share information in a less censored way. If you understand media literacy and
how things can be recreated or broken down,
challenged, shaken up,
that's part of social change
and social change is always very important.
Youth in some ways are engaging in communications through new media in ways that
schools have not caught up with yet. And there's nothing really in school that
determines
how students should learn that.
and actually breaking it down and deconstructing it. The issue is that the
pathways to those resources are not clear. So a lot of students aren't getting
film making programs or media programs
or music programs in their high schools. They don't have none of that at school.
Well, not my school.
I think, if schools can't do that,
the library and maybe libraries all across the nation can do that.
That's exciting.
The library in San Francisco has a huge Main Library downtown in Civic Center.
We have so many free resources at the Public Library. We have access to computers,
public computers, people can use the internet and work on their resumes, lots of free access to
research and information.
We always had specific teen collections
and specific programming for teens but we didn't always have a really
clearly designed space that really made
teens feel welcome.
Apparently teenagers think of a library as a
really boring place where people just like read books and like whatever.
I think right now the center is just a couple tables and a banner that says Teen Center.
Which is
not a really
cool place for teenagers to be at. The last time I looked at the statistics,
we had about three hundred and
seventy thousand or so library cards in san francisco and it's really about
twenty seven thousand or so teens in that group. But we'd really like more of
them to have library cards, to visit the library more often, to feel comfortable,
and to be able to do the things that they are most interested in.
I'd like to see
a sort of more permanent teen center with more technology.
BACKGROUND: "'We're going to be able to make videos there, we're going to be able to make websites, do graphic design, we're going to be able to make music, all this cool stuff.
But in order for us to get there,
we need to work with you guys to figure out exactly what we should be doing in that space."
Technology is a big part
of like teens life and
that's why having a media
based program is important. It would get more teens to come to the library.
It's important
for teens to plan the new teen media center because sometimes adults don't
know what's best for teens or what interests teens.
As a Youth Advisory member, we have so far
been in meetings, sort of discussing what
our vision is for the teen center and sort of talking about
what the team center right now is lacking and what we'd like to see
there in the future. The center at the Main Library would represent what
teens have chosen as their
tools, their way to communicate.
The center would reflect their needs and
ever changing needs. Teens can actually come and
experience some new technology they would never use. A lot of it is gonna be
like studios and a lot of film equipment. Programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash,
a green screen, like a DJ and turn tables. I've always wanted to be a DJ
since I was little.
If we have a sound booth,
people who want to
get into DJing,
they could try it out. It's expensive
to rent a studio.
and they could just come here for free.
Having a space to get creative and
use technology in an interesting way.
It's like the hub of learning, creativity, art,
and something that we're not afraid to share ideas with others and collaborate.
Really the changes I think we need to make are to allow the resources
and technology to be present in a space so that teens can learn to
become creators of the digital space instead of just consumers.
So how can we get these kids that are on their phones, they're texting, they're on Facebook, they're on Twitter,
to step away from
this act of just communicating and turn it into an act of action?
Recently we've seen through Twitter and Facebook, that even just one person can start a
revolution or a big idea.
So hopefully this will empower people to really say what they believe
through a lot of different online programs and platforms. Because of how
prolific technology is in our society today, it's not only important but it's necessary
for us to be able to raise a generation of young people who
want to make change in the world. I think that it would help kids in hard situations grow
because they would hear their own voices, they would see their own creativity manifested,
and there's something incredibly powerful about doing that.